Youth cult meets occult in this New English Library style tale of a skinhead werewolf running riot in late 70s London.

Sunday, 29 April 2018

Pulp

During my teenage years I read a lot of New English Library pulp novels. I was a young suedehead giving it the big 'un in button down, Harrington, and brogues. Many of the books were based around youth cults.

The books were pulpand wrong in so many ways but did get teenagers turning pages and they were passed around school playgrounds avidly.

In 2017 I was on a panel discussion with Unbound's John Mitchinson. I threw a Grauniad journo under the bus. In the pub afterwards I asked John what Unbound had coming up and he said they were working on Dave Hill's autobiography. Being a Slade fan I was, of course, excited. From there we got chatting about all the skinhead/Hells Angel/aggro books we loved as lads. I joked that I'd written a novel about a skinhead who becomes a werewolf: when the moon is full his sideburns grow. John was keen to offer me a deal, I said that I was joking and John replied "Can you write it?". I'd not written fiction before but have a long career as a poet. I said I could and Moonstomp is the result.

There's a lot of my yoof in the book, along with an added werewolf. I hope you enjoy.